1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile communications, and, more particularly, to methods and arrangements for efficiently determining the proper time and tariff associated with a mobile station operating in a mobile communications network that is capable of providing communication services to one or more areas that are located within a plurality of different time-zones.
2. Description of Related Art
Mobile communications systems, such as, for example, a Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications system, are typically designed to provide communication services to subscribers located a fairly large coverage region, that has been subdivided into a plurality of cells. Typically, these cells are located within certain distinct and known time-zones, and the services associated with the mobile communication system are tied to the time of day within the cell from which the subscriber places the call.
Often, the mobile communication network informs the mobile station of the tariffs or other charges associated with the requested/continuing call. In this manner, the subscriber is made aware of the costs associated with the call. In the past this additional feature has been fairly easy to provide, because the mobile switching center is usually located nearby the mobile station, and typically within the same time-zone. Additional tariff related features/issues, concern borders, for example between countries, etc. Here, there can also be a need to make further adjustments to the estimated tariff information provided to the mobile station for display to the subscriber. As is often the problem, the estimated tariff provided to the subscriber in near real-time can differ significantly from the actual post-processed tariff mailed at a later time to the subscriber. One reason for this is that the time associated with the location of the mobile station is not always immediately determinable for use in the estimate calculation.
Recent developments have brought about a more expansive mobile communications system capability. In particular, satellites are being introduced to provide even wider area coverage for mobile stations. Accordingly, the coverage areas provided by a high orbit satellite (e.g., geosynchronous orbit) can be so large that multiple time-zones are crossed, and/or multiple countries/region borders are included for coverage.
Consequently, there is a need for improved methods and arrangements that can be employed to determine an accurate tariff based on the location of the mobile station. Preferably, the estimated tariff and post processed tariff will substantially match one another.
Another advantage of the instant invention is in pre-paid phone services where the timely calculation of tariff is critical.
The various methods and arrangements in accordance with the present invention can be easily employed to determine an accurate tariff based on the location of the mobile station, where the estimated tariff and post processed tariff substantially match one another.
The above needs and others are met by a method for use in mobile telecommunication systems. The method includes the steps of establishing a reference time, determining an offset for a mobile station with respect to the reference time, and determining a cost associated with a call connection to the mobile station based on a tariff associated with a local time that is determined using the reference time and the offset time. For example, in certain embodiments, the reference time is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) time, and the offset is determined by the mobile station based on its current geographical location with respect to the reference time. In other embodiments, the offset is provided to a post processing unit, after having passed through a satellite, a base station and/or a mobile switching center.
An arrangement is also provided, which includes a mobile station that is configured to determine a offset with respect to a current determined location and a reference time. The mobile station transmits the offset to at least one satellite, which in-turn provides the offset to at least one ground node that is configured to determine a cost associated with a call connection to the mobile station based on a tariff associated with a local time that is determined using the reference time and the offset time.
Consequently, the mobile communication system can be provided with the capability to determine the costs associated with a call placed by a subscriber more quickly and accurately.